At first glance, it’s just another remake. Another live-action version of a beloved classic — part of the long line of Disney’s recent nostalgia cash-ins.
And like many before it, the new Snow White has stirred criticism, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of disappointment.
But this one feels different. It may just be the worst in all the land.
This isn’t just a poor adaptation or a money grab. It feels deeper than that. More symbolic. Almost like something sacred is being lost. Because Snow White isn’t just another Disney princess. She was the first. The one that started it all. And the way she’s being treated now — by the studio, the media, and even her own leading lady — feels like a quiet death knell for the magic Disney once held so dear.
Walt’s Favourite
Walt Disney loved Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Obsessively. Tenderly. Personally.
He called it “the one that started it all” — and he wasn’t wrong. It was the first full-length animated feature ever made. It was a gamble that almost ruined him. People told him no one would sit through a cartoon that long. That it would flop. That he was wasting his money, his time, his reputation.
But Walt believed in it. He poured everything into it — his passion, his savings, his vision. And when it finally premiered in 1937, it changed everything. Not just for him, but for the world. Animation was never the same. Storytelling was never the same. Disney — as a studio, as a cultural force — was born on the back of a girl with skin white as snow.
And Walt never forgot it. When he built the new animation studio in Burbank, he had giant columns carved in the shape of the seven dwarfs to physically hold up the building. Because that’s what Snow White did. It held everything up. It was the foundation. The dream made real. The magic.
And Now?
Now, it feels like they’ve forgotten.
The remake is already surrounded by controversy. But more than the visuals or the changes to the story, it was the way the company allowed the narrative to unfold that felt so deeply disappointing. Rachel Zegler, cast as Snow White herself, gave interviews openly mocking the original film. She admitted she hadn’t watched it. Called it outdated. Claimed the prince was a stalker. That Snow White would no longer be “saved by the prince” because she didn’t need saving. Stated that her Snow White would never be ruled by a man, whilst going on to describe how the character is driven by things her father had told her. Her father… a man.
It’s not about whether you like the original film or not. It’s about respect. Legacy. Understanding the story that made your story possible.
And Disney let it happen. They didn’t correct it. They didn’t guide the conversation. They just watched as their first princess, the crown jewel of their history, was publicly dismissed by the face of their newest film. And that silence — that indifference — says everything.
More Than a Money Grab
Live-action remakes have always had that uncomfortable shimmer of cynicism. Most of us could feel it — the rehashing of childhood classics for easy box office returns. But for all their flaws, at least they tried to honour the source material. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King — flawed or not, they knew what they were touching.
Although their casting has had its issues. With Beauty and the Beast, they tried to honour Belle so much that they cast Emma Watson. A perfect Belle in many respects, but many felt the singing wasn’t there. So they listened and for The Little Mermaid, they seemed to focus on singing… but then changed Ariel herself in a way that garnered backlash. Maybe they felt no matter what they did, there would be hate so they just went with someone they thought would be the best for the update.
But this new Snow White doesn’t feel like an update. It feels like a dismissal. A rejection of what came before. As if Disney itself is embarrassed by its own beginnings. Or just doesn’t care about them.
And that’s the saddest part. Because if even Snow White — the Snow White — no longer matters to them, what does?
The End of the Spell
Disney built itself on a belief in magic. Not just fairytale magic — but the magic of storytelling, of dreaming, of honouring childhood wonder. Walt believed in that with his whole heart. And for decades, the studio carried that legacy forward, even as the world changed.
But the magic feels different now. Hollow. Manufactured. Corporate. When even the foundational stories are treated as outdated jokes, when the princess who saved a studio is dismissed for being “too nice,” you realise something deeper is shifting.
The cartoons haven’t felt the same since the digital age wiped out hand drawn animation. The voice actors are now more celebrity cameos and not people picked for their talent in the industry. The songs are aimed more at topping the charts than bringing the story to life.
The spell is breaking. Not because people don’t love Disney anymore — but because Disney has forgotten how to love itself. Its roots. Its values. Its stories.
Snow White started it all. And maybe now, with this remake, she’s the one to mark the end.
